Many companies and other organizations operate networks that connect computing resources to support their operations, such as with the computing systems being co-located (e.g., as part of a local network) or instead located in multiple distinct geographical locations (e.g., connected via one or more private or public intermediate networks). For example, data centers housing significant numbers of interconnected computing systems have become commonplace, such as private data centers that are operated by and on behalf of a single organization and public data centers that are operated by entities such as businesses to provide computing resources to customers.
Some public data center operators provide network access, power and secure installation facilities for hardware owned by various customers, while other public data center operators provide “full service” facilities that also include hardware resources made available for use by their customers. However, as the scale and scope of public and private data centers have increased, the tasks of provisioning, administering, and managing the physical computing resources have become increasingly complicated.